How SMART Goals Will Drive Your Side Hustle

You may have heard of the term “SMART goals” before. Whether from school, work, or a book, SMART goals are widely used as a framework to goal set in a way that just works. When you’re working on building your new side hustle or side business, goal setting is going to be a critical part of your process. That’s why we recommend using the SMART goal framework to outline your side hustle goals.

What are SMART goals?

SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. This framework allows you to clearly define, put into practice, and reflect upon the goals that they want to achieve. Additionally, the time specificity allows you to stay disciplined, even when you’re feeling unproductive.

Why should I use SMART goals?

More than anything, you want your side hustle to bring you joy and — we assume — generate revenue. To do so, you will need to be disciplined in your process. Especially now, when things may feel uncertain at home, at work, and in the world in general, you’ll need to create a discipline around your life and your side hustle. It’s easy to set goals that you won’t necessarily follow, and it is easy to set goals that have no meaning behind them.

For example, you could set the following goal:

Goal: Start my side hustle by next month. Okay, great! You’re on your way to building your side hustle. But what does that mean for your actionable next steps? How are you going to do it? What are you going to do to make it happen? As you can see, the goal may sound good in theory but doesn’t have much backing it.

Instead, let’s make a goal using the SMART goals framework.

SMART Goal: Develop an introductory 10-step business plan for my side hustle in two weeks. This goal hits all of the SMART requirements.

It is Specific — You need 10-steps for an introductory business plan.

It is Measurable — It includes a quantifiable measurement (10 steps).

It is Achievable — It is realistic to write 10 steps in two weeks.

It is Relevant — You must have a business plan for any business you are creating.

It is Time-Bound — You have two weeks to do it.

See? How easy and productive was that! Not only will SMART goals make your goals clearer, but also easier to track and adjust your plan of action.

Want more tips on building your side hustle? Check out our guide here!